Atlee (director)
Atlee | |
---|---|
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India | |
Alma mater | Sathyabama University[1] |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 2010–present |
Spouse |
Krishna Priya (m. 2014) |
Children | 1 |
Arun Kumar (born 21 September 1986), known professionally as Atlee, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter best known for his work in
He directed the films
Career
Atlee began his career at the age of 19, as an assistant director to director
Following the success of Raja Rani, Atlee went on to direct his next film, Theri (2016), an emotional action thriller, produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu, starring Vijay, Samantha, and Amy Jackson in the lead roles. It received mixed reviews from the critics who praised the performances of the cast, soundtrack, score, cinematography, production design, and action sequences. Grossing over ₹156 crores at the box office, it emerged as a huge commercial success and became the second highest grossing Tamil of 2016.[5]
In 2017, Atlee went on to direct
Atlee directed his next film, Bigil (2019), a sports action drama, produced by AGS Entertainment. He reunited for the third and second time with Vijay and Nayanthara, respectively. It also starred Jackie Shroff, Vivek and Kathir in other prominent roles. The music was composed by A. R. Rahman. Upon release, it received mixed-to-positive reviews and emerged as the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2019, collecting ₹310 crore upon its release. It also became one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of all-time and highest-grossing film of Vijay's career.[7]
He also ventured into producing films. In 2017, Atlee and his wife, Priya Atlee, started their own production house, A for Apple Productions. They jointly produced their first film with
In 2020, Atlee and Priya produced their second film,
Atlee made his debut in
Personal life
Atlee married actress Krishna Priya on 9 November 2014.[11][12] Their son was born on 13 January 2023.[13]
Filmography
As director, writer and producer
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Language | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | Raja Rani | Yes | Yes | No | Tamil | |
2016 | Theri | Yes | Yes | No | ||
2017 | Sangili Bungili Kadhava Thorae | No | No | Yes | [14] | |
Mersal | Yes | Yes | No | |||
2019 | Bigil | Yes | Yes | No | ||
2020 | Andhaghaaram | No | No | Yes | ||
2023 | Jawan | Yes | Yes | No | Hindi | Partially reshot in Tamil |
2024 | Baby John | No | No | Yes | co-producer |
Guest appearances
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2012 | Nanban | In the song "Asku Laska" |
2019 | Bigil | In the song "Singappenney" |
2023 | Jawan | In the song "Zinda Banda" |
Recurring collaborations
Editor Ruben, art director T. Muthuraj and actor Sai Dheena have worked on five of Atlee's films. Shobi and Yogi Babu has worked on four of his films. This list only concerns Atlee's directorial films.
Films | Ruben | T. Muthuraj | Sai Dheena | Shobi | Yogi Babu | Vijay | Nayanthara | G. K. Vishnu | Vivek (lyricist) | Manobala | Rajendran | Samantha Ruth Prabhu | Amritha Aiyer | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Raja Rani (2013) | ||||||||||||||
Theri (2016) | deleted scene | uncredited | ||||||||||||
Mersal (2017) | ||||||||||||||
Bigil (2019) | ||||||||||||||
Jawan (2023) | Tamil version | Tamil version |
Controversy
Atlee's films, though commercially highly successful, have been criticized for having overly-familiar stories that have been done-to-death, starting from the 1980's of Tamil cinema. Raja Rani was described as an upgraded version of Mouna Ragam (1986), while Theri was described as inspired by Chatriyan (1990).[15] Mersal was described as an upgraded version of Apoorva Sagodharargal (1989) as well as Moondru Mugam (1982).[16] Bigil was described as "Chak De! India (2007) on steroids".[17] Atlee has countered that, despite having been sued for plagiarism numerous times, he has won all the cases against him.[18]
Accolades
Film | Award | Category | Result | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Raja Rani | Tamil Nadu State Film Awards 2013 | Best Dialogue Writer | Won | [19] | |
Edison Awards | Best Debut Director | Won | |||
8th Vijay Awards | Best Debut Director | Won | [20] | ||
Best Story, Screenplay Writer | Nominated | ||||
Best Dialogue | Nominated | ||||
3rd SIIMA Awards | Best Debut Director | Nominated | |||
Theri | 2nd IIFA Utsavam | Best Director – Tamil | Won | [21] | |
Behindwoods Gold Medal | People's Choice Director | Won | [22] | ||
6th SIIMA Awards | Best Director – Tamil | Won | [23] | ||
64th Filmfare Awards South | Best Director – Tamil | Nominated | [24] | ||
Mersal | Edison Awards 2018 | Best Director | Won | [25] | |
65th Filmfare Awards South | Best Director – Tamil | Nominated | [26] | ||
7th SIIMA Awards | Best Director | Won | [27] | ||
Techofes Awards | Best Director | Won | [28] | ||
10th Vijay Awards | Favourite Director | Won | [29] [30] | ||
Best Dialogue | Nominated |
References
- ^ Filmibeat. Archivedfrom the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
- ^ The Times of India (16 January 2017). "Atlee announces this wedding date!". Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ "Raja Rani crosses 50 crore mark". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- ^ "8th Annual Vijay Awards a grand success". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ "India's Vijay Scores New Personal Record With Excellent 'Theri' Debut". Forbes. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ "Vijay's 'Mersal' Rules Overseas With ₹20 Cr./$3M Start". Forbes. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ "Did Vijay's 'Bigil' incur losses at the box office despite being the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2019?". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ "Sangili Bungili... star cast gets bigger". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ "Atlee's Andhaghaaram to release on Netflix". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ "'A dream come true': Atlee, Anirudh Ravichander express excitement about working with Shah Rukh Khan in Jawan". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ "Director Atlee is engaged to his Rani, Krishna Priya". Behindwoods. 20 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ "Atlee-Krishna Priya Wedding Reception Photos". International Business Times. 9 November 2014. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "Before Thalapathy 63: The films Atlee has been accused of plagiarising". India Today. Chennai. 17 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ "Before Thalapathy 63: The films Atlee has been accused of plagiarising". India Today. 17 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ "Mersal is indebted to Kamal Haasan's Aboorva Sagotharargal, as much as Baahubali to Thevar Magan". The Indian Express. 21 October 2017. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ "Shahrukh Khan calls Bigil trailer, Chak De India on steroids". Cinema Express. 12 October 2019. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ "Assistant director to being Ambani's guest, Atlee's growth is a huge inspiration". India Today. 21 September 2023. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "TN Govt. announces Tamil Film Awards for six years". The Hindu. 14 July 2017. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- IB Times. Archivedfrom the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
- ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash (14 March 2017). "IIFA South Utsavam Awards 2017: Here is the complete nomination list for Tamil movies". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- ^ "Complete list of award winners in Behindwoods Gold Medals 2017". Behindwoods. 14 June 2017. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
- ^ "SIIMA 2017 Nomination List – Tamil". South Indian International Movie Awards. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ^ "Tamil Nominations for Filmfare Awards South 2017". Filmfare. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash (26 February 2018). "Ilayathalapathy Vijay's Mersal sweeps Edison Awards [winners' list]". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
- ^ "Nominations for the 65th Jio Filmfare Awards (South) 2018". Filmfare. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original on 4 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- ^ Goyal, Divya (15 August 2018). "SIIMA 2018 Nominations: Vijay's Mersal Beats Madhavan And Vijay Sethupathi's Vikram Vedha". NDTV. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- ^ "T-Awards Poll". Techofes. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
"Pro Shows". Techofes. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018. - ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash (4 June 2018). "Vijay Awards 2018: Here is the complete list of winners [Photos]". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 4 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- Hotstar. 16 June 2018. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
"Stars of the Night". Hotstar. 17 June 2018. Archived
External links
- Atlee Kumar at IMDb
- Atlee Kumar at Rotten Tomatoes
- Atlee on Twitter